Zengzi
Zengzi’s wife goes to market. His son wants to go with her, crying as she goes. His mother said to him: "You go back, and when I come back, I will kill a pig for you to eat." His wife came back from the market, and Zeng Zi wanted to catch pigs to kill. His wife stopped him and said, "That's just talking to a child." "It's just for fun." Zengzi said, "You must not play with children. Children are not sensible and should learn from their parents. Now if you lie to them, you are teaching them to be deceivers." "Child, if a child doesn't believe what his mother says, it's impossible to educate him well." Zengzi then killed the pig.
Han Xin
When Han Xin was in despair, a wandering mother gave him food. When Han Xin left her, he told her that he would repay her in the future. Later, when Han Xin became the king of Chu, he did not forget his old kindness and offered his mother a thousand taels of gold.
Yan Shu
Yan Shu, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, was known for his honesty. When he was fourteen years old, someone recommended him to the emperor as a child prodigy. The emperor summoned him and asked him to take the exam at the same time as more than a thousand Jinshi. As a result, Yan Shu discovered that the test was one he had just practiced ten days ago, so he reported the truth to Zhenzong and asked for other questions to be changed. Song Zhenzong admired Yan Shu's honest character very much and gave him "the same background as a Jinshi". When Yan Shu was in office, the world was at peace. As a result, officials of all sizes in the capital often went to the countryside to play or held various banquets in restaurants and teahouses in the city. Yan Shu's family was poor and he had no money to go out to eat, drink and have fun, so he had to read and write articles at home with his brothers. One day, Zhenzong promoted Yan Shu to the East Palace official who assisted the prince in his studies. The ministers were surprised and didn't understand why Zhenzong made such a decision. Zhenzong said: "Recently, the ministers often go out to play and have banquets. Only Yan Shu studies behind closed doors. He is so self-respecting and prudent that he is a suitable candidate for the East Palace official." After thanking Yan Shu, he said: "I am actually a person who likes to play and have banquets. It's just my family. It's just poverty. If I had money, I would have participated in the banquet." These two things established Yan Shu's credibility in front of the officials, and Song Zhenzong also trusted him more.
Shang Yang
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Shang Yang of Qin presided over the reform with the support of Qin Xiaogong. At that time, when wars were frequent and people were in panic, in order to establish prestige and promote reforms, Shang Yang ordered a three-foot-long log to be erected outside the south gate of the capital, and made a promise in public: Who can move this log to the north gate? The bounty is ten taels. The onlookers didn't believe that such an easy thing could get such a high reward, so no one was willing to give it a try. So Shang Yang increased the reward to 50 gold. There must be a brave man under the heavy reward, and finally someone stood up and carried the wood to the north gate. Shang Yang immediately rewarded him with fifty gold coins. Shang Yang's move established prestige in the hearts of the people, and Shang Yang's subsequent reforms soon spread in the Qin State. The new law made Qin gradually stronger and stronger, and finally unified China.